UConn Pummels West Virginia, 13-4, to Take Series

Boxscore [.pdf]

STORRS, Conn. (April 4, 2005) - The University of Connecticut baseball team defeated West Virginia by a score of 13-4 on Monday afternoon to win their first BIG EAST series of the season. The game, in which the Huskies notched 16 hits to the Mountaineer's six, included six UConn batters tallying multiple hits. The win improves Connecticut to 17-7 and 3-2 in conference games, while West Virginia moves to 11-17, 2-5 vs. league foes.

The Mountaineers actually struck first offensively, collecting a 3-0 lead in the first three innings. Senior Jeff Hourigan (Beacon Falls, Conn.) hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth, his fourth of the season, to put UConn on the board, but West Virginia responded with one more in the fifth to regain their three-run lead and move the score to 4-1.

UConn starter Brendan McGinn (Tolland, Conn.) and reliever Tim Norton (Pascoag, R.I.) then combined to shutout the Mountaineers in the remaining innings of the game while the Husky bats produced 12 runs in the final four innings.

Connecticut scored half of their 12 runs in the bottom of the fifth, taking the lead for the first time at 7-4. In an inning that saw the Huskies bat around, with one out, freshman Pat Mahoney (Des Moines, Iowa) started the offense with a single to left field, followed by sophomore Dennis Donovan (Center Moriches, N.Y.) who drew a walk. Fellow sophomore Josh Farkes (Boston, Mass.) then doubled down the left line to score Mahoney and move Donovan to third. Junior Austin Wasserman (Nashua, N.H.) and senior Tony Mallozzi (Westboro, Mass.) each singled in a run to tie the game at 4-4.

After a pitching change by West Virginia, freshman Vin DiFazio (Hampton, N.J.) reached on a fielder's choice that got Wasserman out in a run down on the third base line. Hourigan then doubled in Mallozzi and DiFazio and scored the final run of the inning on a single hit to left field by sophomore Larry Day (Amesbury, Mass.).

UConn added to its lead by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings as the Huskies cruised to a 13-4 victory. Hourigan and Day each registered 3-for-5 performances with three RBI, as Hourigan also scored three runs while Day added one.

Farkes, Wasserman, Mallozzi and DiFazio all were 2-for-5. Mallozzi and Farkes each tallied three RBI, and all four scored a run with DiFazio tallying two.

McGinn picked up the win to move to 3-3 on the year, throwing seven innings with six hits, four runs, two walks and five strikeouts. Norton pitched the final two innings facing the minimal six batters with two strikeouts. Ryan Hill (1-1) took the loss for West Virginia.

Connecticut will continue its home stand when the Huskies play host to Northeastern on Tuesday, April 5 and Marist on Wednesday, April 6 with both games beginning at 3:00 p.m. at J.O. Christian Field.